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Closing the Project

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Teaching Strategies

The two vignettes in this chapter address the lessons students should have learned during a project in which they participated. The lessons learned should be recorded as the project progresses so they are not forgotten by the time the project is finished. Lessons learned from other projects can be a valuable resource for saving time and money on the current project.
Becoming accustomed to recording and reflecting on lessons learned from each project can be an invaluable way to help save expenses on the next project. It can help project managers avoid making the same mistakes twice and can help them to implement time saving processes.
Have students identify lessons learned that can help them in this course or in other courses they are taking.
Have each student describe a project on which he or she has been a team member. For each project, have the student describe the best lesson learned from the project and one thing that should have been done differently. Record these lessons to create a best practices list for projects and a list of how to improve future projects.

Optional Supplemental Activities

Have the students read the real-world vignettes and research the Internet for other articles about the two projects covered in the vignettes.
Have them read the chapter and answer all of the Reinforce Your Learning questions and the end-of-chapter questions.
Have students present a summary of an article from the project management journal found in the Internet exercise. If possible, have the students contact the author of the article to discuss the contents.

Chapter Concepts

Actions that should be taken when closing a project

Conducting a post-project evaluation

The importance of documenting lessons learned

The need to organize and archive project documents

Obtaining feedback from the customer about the project

Early termination of projects

Chapter Concepts

This chapter discusses the various activities involved in the process of closing the project. After project work is completed, and all the deliverables are accepted by the customer, the performing phase of the project ends. The project then moves into the fourth and final phase of the project life cycle—closing the project.

Based on the material in this chapter, students will become familiar with:

Actions that should be taken when closing a project
Conducting a post-project evaluation
The importance of documenting lessons learned
The need to organize and archive project documents
Obtaining feedback from the customer about the project
Early termination of projects

Learning Outcomes

Identify actions that should be taken during the process of closing a project

Conduct a post-project evaluation

Discuss the value and use of lessons learned

Explain the importance of organizing and archiving project documents

Obtain customer feedback about the project

Describe situations that could result in early project termination

Learning Outcomes

After studying this chapter, students should be able to:

Identify actions that should be taken during the process of closing a project
Conduct a post-project evaluation
Discuss the value and use of lessons learned
Explain the importance of organizing and archiving project documents
Obtain customer feedback about the project
Describe situations that could result in early project termination

Project Integration Management
Project Procurement Management

Project Management Knowledge Areas from PMBOK® Guide

Concepts in this chapter support the following Project Management Knowledge Areas of the PMI Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide):

Project Integration Management
Project Procurement Management

Lessons Learned on the Proving Grounds

What Proterra Did

Listened to the customer
Implemented formal PM process
Overcommunicated expectations to entire team
Completed a comparative analysis
Incorporated requests into design prior to production
Provided an onsite technician to answer maintenance questions
Developed education sessions

Outcomes

Saved time on product reviews and changes during production
Avoided rework
Improved cash flow by delivering products on time
Improved customer satisfaction
Recorded and used their lessons learned

Vignette A: Lessons Learned on the Proving Grounds

Proterra, a U. S. electric bus start-up from Greenville, South Carolina, USA, has used the lessons learned from successfully delivering three buses to the King County Metro Transit, Seattle, Washington, USA, to develop processes to accelerate the delivery of future bus orders. The Metro has been testing the functionality to determine if the buses meet their requirements to serve the customers in the county’s public transportation market. Following a successful test and adoption, Proterra has an option to possibly supply an additional 200 buses over five years.

What Proterra Did:
Listened to the customer
Implemented a more formal project management process
Overcommunicated of the customer’s expectations to everyone on the bus production team
Completed a comparative analysis of the standard bus design to the desired specifications
Incorporated customer and community requests into the design
Provided an onsite technician to answer maintenance questions
Developed education sessions
Outcomes
Saved time on product reviews and changes during production
Avoided rework
Improved cash flow by delivering products on time
Improved customer satisfaction

Proterra recorded and used their lessons learned to be in position to be efficient and cost effective if they should receive any more orders for buses for the King County Metro Transit. The project team has processes in place to be responsive due to paying attention to the lessons learned.

Learning from the Atomic Age

Increased Nuclear Power Generation

Closed facilities have reopened
Construction of new reactors
Public acceptance
Regulation changes for fossil fuel use
Increased need for power

Evaluation Findings

Variability of qualifications
Stringent safety standards
Strict regulatory requirements
Standardization of design
Multiple reactor construction
Modular components
Well-trained project managers

Vignette B: Learning from the Atomic Age

Incidents at the tsunami damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan, Three Mile Island in the United States, and Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union have had an effect on stakeholders, including nuclear-facility project teams, worldwide. These events have been credited with the downturn in the number of projects in the 1970s and the closure of Japanese facilities immediately following the tsunami-influenced meltdown. Together, these terminated projects have left a significant gap in the talent pool for nuclear-experienced workers; many project managers and team members were forced to seek employment in other industries.

Changes
Closed Japanese facilities have reopened
15 countries are constructing 67 new reactors
Public acceptance is rising through education and public consultation
Changes in regulations have decreased the construction rate of fossil fuel-fired facilities for power generation
Projected power production for 2040 is 624 gigawatts to be generated by nuclear facilities
Recent growth
created a demand for talent to staff the project teams for construction and for operation
catalyzed a need to provide leadership for the projects
mandated determination of best practices for the industry
How gather information for future projects
Examination of completed nuclear power projects
Post project evaluations
Evaluation findings
Variability of the vocational and professional qualifications and work practices for team members from different countries
Need for stringent safety standards and education for new technologies and processes
Strict regulatory requirements for the industry - build things exactly the way you say you’re going to build them
Standardization of design decisions and reduction of design tweaking
Building of multiple reactors at the same time
Use of modular components to construct the reactors

Jerry D. Lainhart, PMP, turnover manager, Haiyang AP1000, Westinghouse Electric Co., Haiyang, China, said, “As nuclear construction projects increase, so, too, will the need for project managers who are well-trained, formally qualified and sufficiently experienced to lead this type of large, complex project successfully.” The problems found in the evaluations of the projects could multiply through the growing number of projects to construct nuclear facilities. Careful attention to lessons learned from prior projects might have saved them costly delays.

Project Closing Actions

Collect and make final payments
Recognize and evaluate staff
Conduct post-project evaluation
Document lessons learned
Organize and archive project documents

Project Closing Actions

The process of closing the project involves various actions, including:
Collecting and making final payments
Recognizing and evaluating staff
Conducting a post-project evaluation
Documenting lessons learned
Organizing and archiving project documents
Activities associated with closing the project should be identified and included in the project baseline plan. The figure shown in this slide depicts the project life cycle. We will discuss each of these steps in more detail in the upcoming slides.

Final Payments

Payments from customer

Have activity listed to perform collection

Assure that all the payments have been received

Payments to others

Verify all payments have been made

Record actual costs

Account closing

Perform financial analysis on the project

Compare actual costs versus baseline budget

Final Payments

Assuring that all payments have been collected from the customer is an activity that must be performed during the closing phase.
Project managers must also verify that all payments have been made to anyone else involved in the project
Such as subcontractors, consultants, vendors, or suppliers for any purchased materials or services
Once all payments have been received and made, the project “books,” or accounting records, can be closed.
A financial analysis of the project can be made in which final actual costs are compared to the project baseline budget.

Staff Recognition And Evaluation

End project with recognition and celebration

Recognize team members for contributions

Celebrate the success of the project

Prepare individual performance evaluations

Mention how knowledge expanded during project

Identify areas where need further development

Share during individual meetings or give to supervisor

Staff Recognition And Evaluation

Successful projects should end with some type of recognition and celebration.
This helps boost the morale of the team members through recognizing their work.
It also helps to celebrate a successful project.
The project manager should prepare a written performance evaluation of each member of the project team.
It should mention how each has expanded her or his knowledge as a result of the project assignment
It also identifies areas where he or she needs to develop further.
These evaluations should be shared during individual meetings with the team members, or given to their supervisor to share with them.

Post Project Evaluation

Review and evaluate project performance
Identify improvements
Hold individual meetings with members
Hold project team meeting
Prepare written report with lessons learned and recommendations

Post Project Evaluation

The post-project evaluation stage, which occurs during the closing phase, is an important time to review the project and identify areas that went well and where improvements are necessary.
Hold individual meetings with team members to give feedback on each one about their performance and to get feedback from them on how to improve future projects.
At the group meeting with the project team, the project manager should lead a discussion of what happened during performance of the project and solicit specific recommendations for improvement.
As you can see in the list on this slide, topics to be discussed at group meetings can include.
Technical performance
Budget performance
Schedule performance
Project planning and control
Risk management
Customer relationships
Stakeholder engagement
Team relationships
Communications
Problem identification and resolution
Lessons learned
Recommendations for future projects
The project manager should prepare a written report of project performance including lessons learned and recommendations.

Lessons Learned

Purpose of identifying and documenting

Capitalize on knowledge and experience gained

Improve performance on future projects

Knowledge base system or repository

Retrieve lessons learned from prior projects

Easily access information by category or subject

Record keeping throughout project

Capture lesson at time of lesson instead of end of project

Have as agenda topic at meetings and in training sessions

Lessons Learned

The purpose of identifying and documenting lessons learned is to capitalize on the knowledge and experience gained from the project.
This practice helps to improve performance on future projects.
The project organization should establish a knowledge base system that includes an easily accessible information storehouse that encourages project managers and teams to retrieve lessons learned and information from previous projects.
The system should organize information so that it is easily retrievable by category or subject of lesson learned or by key words.
The project team should not wait until the end of the project to capture and document lessons learned.
It should be done on an ongoing basis throughout the planning and performing phases of the project.
Have lessons learned be an agenda topic on a new project and include in project management training.

Archive Project Documents

Organize, file, and archive appropriate documents

Organize system to make information easily retrievable

Create database of common data elements

Analyze elements for trends

Examine records for bidding, planning, and performing future projects

Archive Project Documents

During project closing, the project team or contractor should ensure that copies of appropriate project documentation are properly organized, filed, and archived.
Good organization helps make information readily retrievable for future use.
It can be valuable to create a database of common data elements from past projects.
Helps to analyze and determine if there are trends or correlations between projects
Can be helpful in bidding, planning, and/or performing future projects
This should be done as part of, or in addition to, the documents in the archive

Customer Feedback

Post-project evaluation meeting with customer

Determine if provided the expected benefits

Assess the level of customer satisfaction

Obtain any feedback with open-ended questions

Discuss future opportunities

Secure permission to use as reference

Participants

Key project team members

Key customer representatives

Project manager

Customer Feedback

Having a post-project evaluation meeting with the customer or sponsor is just as important as having the internal post-project meetings within the project team members.
The purposes of this meeting is to:
Determine whether the project provided the customer with the expected benefits
Assess the level of customer satisfaction
Obtain any feedback that would be helpful in future business relationships with this customer or with other customers
Discuss future opportunities
Secure permission to use that customer as a reference
Meeting participants should involve the:
Key project team members
Key representatives of the customer’s organization who were involved with the project
Project manager
The project manager should schedule the meeting for a time when the customer is in a position to determine whether the project met expectations and achieved the anticipated benefits.

Post-Project Customer Evaluation Survey

Analyze for trends
Seek permission for reference

Post-Project Customer Evaluation Survey

The figure in this slide depicts a post-project customer evaluation survey.
The evaluation survey can be valuable.
Analyze it for trends between projects
Provides an opportunity for ask permission for reference from the client

List circumstances that require a project to be terminated before it is completed.

Student Discussion

Not all projects are finished. List some of the circumstances that require a project to be terminated before it is completed.

Possible responses to Student Discussion

Financial situations

Project return on investment change

Dissatisfaction with the project progress

Project needs have changed

List circumstances that require a project to be terminated before it is completed.

There may be circumstances that require a project to be terminated before it is completed.
Projects can be terminated by the sponsor or customer because of:
Financial situations (the client runs out of money or the project becomes too expensive)
Project return on investment change (perhaps from a change in the economy, such as a recession)
Dissatisfaction with the project progress (sometimes the client orders a project terminated because it is progressing too slowly)
Project needs have changed (the original project no longer suits the client’s requirements)
Project managers must monitor the level of customer satisfaction continually throughout the project and take corrective action at the first hint of any dissatisfaction.

Critical Success Factors

Recognize the project team and celebrate accomplishments throughout the project.

Regularly ask the customer about the level of satisfaction with the performance and progress of the project and take corrective action at the first hint that the customer is not satisfied.

After the conclusion of a project, the project performance should be evaluated to learn what could be improved if a similar project were to be done in the future. Feedback should be obtained from the customer and the project team.

Capture and document lessons learned throughout the performance of the project.

Establish a knowledge base of lessons learned and ensure that they are communicated and used on future projects.

Organize and archive project documentation and analyze key data that could be helpful in bidding, planning, or performing future projects.

Retain customer evaluation and feedback information that could be valuable in developing proposals for other projects for the same customer in the future.

Critical Success Factors

Recognize the project team and celebrate accomplishments throughout the project.
Regularly ask the customer about the level of satisfaction with the performance and progress of the project and take corrective action at the first hint that the customer is not satisfied.
After the conclusion of a project, the project performance should be evaluated to learn what could be improved if a similar project were to be done in the future. Feedback should be obtained from the customer and the project team.
Capture and document lessons learned throughout the performance of the project.
Establish a knowledge base of lessons learned and ensure that they are communicated and used on future projects.
Organize and archive project documentation and analyze key data that could be helpful in bidding, planning, or performing future projects.
Retain customer evaluation and feedback information that could be valuable in developing proposals for other projects for the same customer in the future.

Summary

The fourth and final phase of the project life cycle is closing the project.

An important project closing action is staff recognition and evaluation.

Conduct post-project evaluation meetings within the project team or organization with individual team members and a group meeting with the project team to gather team feedback for improved future performance.

Identify and document lessons learned to capitalize on the knowledge and experience gained on the project in order to improve performance on future projects.

The project team or contractor should ensure that copies of appropriate project documentation are properly organized, filed, and archived so that they can be readily retrieved for future use.

Conduct a post-project evaluation meeting, or distribute a customer evaluation survey to the customer or sponsor to determine whether the project provided the customer with expected benefits; assess the level of customer satisfaction; and obtain any feedback that would be helpful in future business relationships with this customer or with other customers.

Projects may be terminated before completion for various reasons.

Summary

The fourth and final phase of the project life cycle is closing the project.
An important project closing action is staff recognition and evaluation.
Conduct post-project evaluation meetings within the project team or organization with individual team members and a group meeting with the project team to gather team feedback for improved future performance.
Identify and document lessons learned to capitalize on the knowledge and experience gained on the project in order to improve performance on future projects.
The project team or contractor should ensure that copies of appropriate project documentation are properly organized, filed, and archived so that they can be readily retrieved for future use.
Conduct a post-project evaluation meeting, or distribute a customer evaluation survey to the customer or sponsor to determine whether the project provided the customer with the expected benefits; assess the level of customer satisfaction; and obtain any feedback that would be helpful in future business relationships with this customer or with other customers.
Projects may be terminated before completion for various reasons.

Chapter Questions

Question 1

The process of closing the project involves various actions, including:

Collecting and making final payments

Recognizing and evaluating staff

Conducting a post-project evaluation

Documenting lessons learned

Organizing and archiving project documents

These activities are important to:

Make sure that the customer is satisfied

Gather information about how to improve for future projects

Determine if additional opportunities are available with the customer

Obtain permission to use the customer as a reference

Discuss what needs to be done as part of closing a project.

Why are these activities important?

1. Discuss what needs to be done as part of closing a project. Why are these activities important?

The process of closing the project involves various actions, including:
Collecting and making final payments
Recognizing and evaluating staff
Conducting a post-project evaluation
Documenting lessons learned
Organizing and archiving project documents
These activities are all important to:
Ensure that the customer is satisfied
Gather information about how to improve for future projects
Determine if additional opportunities are available with the customer
Obtain permission to use the customer as a reference

Question 2

The internal post-project evaluation process involves holding meetings with:

The project team or organization that performed the project

Individual team members

The group, including the project team, to gather team feedback for improved future performance

The individual meetings allow the project manager to gather information from the individual team members and let the project manager share the performance appraisal of the team member describing how the team member's skills advanced while working on the project.

The post-project team meeting is a time for the project manager to lead a discussion about how the team performed.

Discuss the internal post project evaluation process and the two types of meetings involved.

2. Discuss the internal post project evaluation process and the two types of meetings involved.

The internal post-project evaluation process involves holding meetings with:
The project team or organization that performed the project
Individual team members
The group, including the project team, to gather team feedback for improved future performance
The individual meetings allow the project manager to gather information from the individual team members and let the project manager share the performance appraisal of the project team member describing how the team member's skills advanced while working on the project.
The post-project team meeting is a time for the project manager to lead a discussion about how the team performed.

Question 3

Open-ended questions help the customer to describe the situation. Some examples are questions to be asked are:

How has the organization changed now that the project is complete?

What pleased you most about the project? What disappointed you during the project? How were those disappointments met by the project team?

Is the solution meeting the desired need?

How did the communication plan meet or not meet the communication needs for the project?

Descriptions of what the student would change in the next project or would improves should be related to the possible responses to the questions that the asked. For example, if an evaluation question was about the timeliness of communications, then the student’s suggestions would be to provide the customer with a communication plan and schedule for the customer to approve.

List several questions that you would ask during a post-project evaluation and describe changes that you would make in your next project to improve based upon possible responses to the questions.

3. List several questions that you would ask during a post-project evaluation and describe changes that you would make in your next project to improve based upon possible responses to the questions.

The post-project evaluation could use a variety of open- and closed-ended questions to assess the customer’s level of satisfaction and to gather detailed comments about the parts of the project with which the customer was satisfied or dissatisfied. Open-ended questions help the customer to describe the situation. Some examples are questions to be asked are: How has the organization changed now that the project is complete? What pleased you most about the project? What disappointed you during the project? How were those disappointments met by the project team? Is the solution meeting the desired need? How did the communication plan meet or not meet the communication needs for the project?

Question 4

The post-project evaluation can be conducted as a meeting with open-ended questions, or as a customer evaluation survey.

The information is used to assess the level of satisfaction of the customer, the opportunities for future work, and as a chance to ask permission to use the customer as a reference.

What are some ways you can obtain feedback from a customer after a project has been completed?

How would you use this information?

4. What are some ways you can obtain feedback from a customer after a project has been completed? How would you use this information?

The post-project evaluation can be conducted as a meeting with open-ended questions, or as a customer evaluation survey.
The information is used to assess the level of satisfaction of the customer, the opportunities for future work, and as a chance to ask permission to use the customer as a reference.

Question 5

Projects also can be terminated by the sponsor or customer for a variety of reasons including:

Financial situations

Project return on investment change

Dissatisfaction with project progress

Project needs have changed

It is wise to terminate a project

If the cost of doing the project outweighs the benefits

If the project is no longer needed

If the project is not being carried out in a satisfactory manner

Why are some projects terminated before they are completed?

When would it be wise to do so?

5. Why are some projects terminated before they are completed? When would it be wise to do so?

Projects also can be terminated by the sponsor or customer for a variety of reasons including:
Financial situations
Project return on investment change
Dissatisfaction with the project progress
Project needs have changed
It is wise to terminate a project if:
The cost of doing the project outweighs the benefits
The project is no longer needed
If the project is not being carried out in a satisfactory manner

Question 6

Responses will be dependent upon the project. Common lessons learned include:

Increase project team communication

Have more frequent project team meetings

Analyze project progress to be more proactive when tasks are delayed

Have more meetings with the customer

Document changes more thoroughly

Discuss risks at each project team meeting

Not all lessons learned are due to negative experiences. Positive experiences on how to implement a technology solution are also valuable lessons.

Lessons learned inform future projects because the team can implement the suggestions from prior projects and thereby avoid the same problems.

List several lessons learned from a project in which you were a project team member or project manager.

How will these lessons learned inform your future projects?

6. List several lessons learned for a project in which you were a project member or project manager. How will these lessons learned inform your future projects?

Responses will be dependent upon the project.
Common lessons learned include:
Increase project team communication
Have more frequent project team meetings
Analyze project progress to be more proactive when tasks are delayed
Have more meetings with the customer
Document changes more thoroughly
Discuss risks at each project team meeting
Not all lessons learned are due to negative experiences. Positive experiences on how to implement a technology solution are also valuable lessons.
Lessons learned inform future projects because the team can implement the suggestions from prior projects and thereby avoid the same problems.

Completed Project Reports
Project Lessons Learned
Post-Project Evaluations
Project Management Standards
Project Management Journals

Internet Exercises

Assign the Internet Exercises to your students as homework or complete them together in a computer lab.

Internet Exercises

Use search terms that include the project topic of interest to help find project outcomes.

The searches for "project lessons learned," "post-project evaluations," and "project management standards" result in definitions, tools, and descriptions of each.

Project management journals contain a variety of articles. Some journals have a theme and others accept articles that are of interest to the project management community.

Using your favorite Web search engine, perform a search for reports of completed projects.

Do several Web searches for "project lessons learned," "post-project evaluations," and "project management standards.”

Search for project management related journals and review several articles.

Internet Exercises

Many projects are documented on the Internet. For example, if a student is interested in drug trials that have been completed, the search terms could be: “pharmaceutical drug trial project outcomes.”
Have students share their search terms and record the terms to supply the information to other classes as lessons learned.
The searches for "project lessons learned," "post-project evaluations," and "project management standards" result in definitions, tools, and descriptions of each.
Have students share any additional terms they may have included to further refine their searches.
Project management journals contain a variety of articles. Some journals have a theme and others accept articles that are of interest to the project management community.
Have students examine the trends in the themes of the articles to see if a particular topic is more frequently presented, or if there is a pattern to the topics.

Factory Expansion Project

Case Study 1

Case Study #1: Factory Expansion Project

This activity involves an electronics company whose sales are expanding and requires additional capacity.

Group Activity

Divide the course participants into groups of three or four to develop responses to the case questions. Have each group choose a spokesperson to present its responses to the entire class.

Case Study 1
Question 1

Andy barged into Jacob’s office without an appointment and without respecting that Jacob might be in the middle of other business.

Andy should have scheduled an appointment and listened to Jacob.

What should Andy Gibson have done differently in his meeting with Jacob Clemson in Jacob’s office?

1. What should Andy Gibson have done differently in his meeting with Jacob Clemson in Jacob’s office?

Andy barged into Jacob’s office without an appointment and without respecting that Jacob might be in the middle of other business.
Andy should have scheduled an appointment and listened to Jacob.

Case Study 1
Question 2

Clearly, Andy needs to work on his communication skills. He also needs to learn to listen to Jacob’s concerns.

What are some things Andy could have done differently from his initial contact with Mr. Clemson and during the project?

2. What are some things Andy could have done differently from his initial contact with Mr. Clemson and during the project?

Clearly, Andy needs to work on his communication skills.
He also needs to learn to listen to Jacob’s concerns.

Case Study 1
Question 3

Jacob needs to stop and think about the message he wants to convey and then work on stating his views clearly.

Jacob should have explored the reputation of Andy's company and determined if there were other companies that did similar work in the area.

Jacob could have documented the problems with the project and communicated those problems in writing.

Jacob also can withhold the final payments and the bonus until the project is completed to his specifications.

What are some things Jacob could have done differently from the time he met Andy Gibson initially and during the project?

3. What are some things Jacob could have done differently from the time he met Andy Gibson initially and during the project?

Jacob needs to stop and think about the message he wants to convey and then work on stating his views clearly.
He should have explored the reputation of Andy's company and determined if there were other companies that did similar work in the area.
Jacob could have documented the problems with the project and communicated those problems in writing.
Jacob also can withhold the final payments and the bonus until the project is completed to his specifications.

Case Study 1
Question 4

Gerri clearly thinks Andy is being unethical and she should re-think their business relationship.

Some respondents may believe that Gerri should leave this company because she disagrees with the management style and find a position that is more suited to her ethical standards.

Other responses may propose solutions for how to help with the project communications and to help avoid the unethical proposal to obtain the bonus money.

What should Gerri do?

4. What should Gerri do?

Gerri clearly thinks Andy is being unethical and she should re-think their business relationship.
Some respondents may believe that Gerri should leave this company because she disagrees with the management style and find a position that is more suited to her ethical standards.
Other responses may propose solutions for how to help with the project communications and to help avoid the unethical proposal to obtain the bonus money.

Market Research Report Project

Case Study 2

Case Study #2: Market Research Report Project

This activity involves a project manager and her communication plan with the customer.

Group Activity

Divide the course participants into groups of three or four to develop responses to the case questions. Have each group choose a spokesperson to present its responses to the entire class.

Case Study 2
Question 1

Christine was the project customer and it seemed that Christine and Sarah were communicating.

Meghan's assumption that Sarah was communicating to Christine may have been problematic and contributed to Christine’s dissatisfaction at the point of distribution.

After making the changes that Christine outlined, she would be satisfied.

Did Meghan’s team satisfy the customer? Why or why not?

1. Did Meghan’s team satisfy the customer? Why or why not?

Christine was the project customer and it seemed that Christine and Sarah were communicating.
Meghan's assumption that Sarah was communicating to Christine may have been a problem and contributed to Christine’s dissatisfaction at the point of distribution.
After making the changes that Christine outlined, she would be satisfied.

Case Study 2
Question 2

Christine is the customer that contracted with Meghan's team for the project and it is important to communicate with the customer.

Meghan should have included Christine on the prior communications.

Communications should clear and comprehensive so there are no surprises for either the customer or the contractor at the project’s close.

Meghan should respond with a plan to implement corrections because the customer is not satisfied and has not accepted the product.

How should Meghan respond to the comments from Christine after Sarah had given feedback and approval for the final report?

2. How should Meghan respond to the comments from Christine after Sarah had given feedback and approval for the final report?

Christine is the customer that contracted with Meghan's team for the project and it is important to communicate with the customer.
Meghan should have included Christine on the prior communications.
Communications should clear and comprehensive so there are no surprises for either the customer or the contractor at the project’s close.
Meghan should respond with a plan to implement the necessary corrections because the customer is not satisfied and has not accepted the product.

Case Study 2
Question 3

Meghan should plan the work necessary to make the corrections to the product and meet with the project team to determine if they can be completed within the allotted slack time of a week.

The project team had gone through the steps of closing this project.

They have one week of slack in the schedule before they would be causing another project to be delayed. What should Meghan do with her team?

3. The project team had gone through the steps of closing this project. They have one week of slack in the schedule before they would be causing another project to be delayed. What should Meghan do with her team?

Meghan should plan the work necessary to make the corrections to the product and meet with the project team to determine if they can be completed within the allotted slack time of a week.

Case Study 2
Question 4

Even though Christine said that she did not have time to devote to the project, Christine should have been copied on all the communications with Sarah, her project manager.

Both Christine and Meghan were surprised at the end of the project and neither the contractor nor the customer should be surprised at a project’s close.

Any changes to the project should be approved by the customer in writing.

What should Meghan have done differently in the project?

4. What should Meghan have done differently in the project?

Even though Christine said that she did not have time to devote to the project, Christine should have been copied on all the communications with Sarah, her project manager.
Both Christine and Meghan were surprised at the end of the project and neither the contractor nor the customer should ever be surprised at a project’s close.
Any changes to the project should be approved by the customer in writing.

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Teaching Strategies

The two vignettes in this chapter address the lessons students should have learned during a project in which they participated. The lessons learned should be recorded as the project progresses so they are not forgotten by the time the project is finished. Lessons learned from other projects can be a valuable resource for saving time and money on the current project.
Becoming accustomed to recording and reflecting on lessons learned from each project can be an invaluable way to help save expenses on the next project. It can help project managers avoid making the same mistakes twice and can help them to implement time saving processes.
Have students identify lessons learned that can help them in this course or in other courses they are taking.
Have each student describe a project on which he or she has been a team member. For each project, have the student describe the best lesson learned from the project and one thing that should have been done differently. Record these lessons to create a best practices list for projects and a list of how to improve future projects.

Optional Supplemental Activities

Have the students read the real-world vignettes and research the Internet for other articles about the two projects covered in the vignettes.
Have them read the chapter and answer all of the Reinforce Your Learning questions and the end-of-chapter questions.
Have students present a summary of an article from the project management journal found in the Internet exercise. If possible, have the students contact the author of the article to discuss the contents.

Chapter Concepts

This chapter discusses the various activities involved in the process of closing the project. After project work is completed, and all the deliverables are accepted by the customer, the performing phase of the project ends. The project then moves into the fourth and final phase of the project life cycle—closing the project.

Based on the material in this chapter, students will become familiar with:

Actions that should be taken when closing a project
Conducting a post-project evaluation
The importance of documenting lessons learned
The need to organize and archive project documents
Obtaining feedback from the customer about the project
Early termination of projects

Learning Outcomes

After studying this chapter, students should be able to:

Identify actions that should be taken during the process of closing a project
Conduct a post-project evaluation
Discuss the value and use of lessons learned
Explain the importance of organizing and archiving project documents
Obtain customer feedback about the project
Describe situations that could result in early project termination

Project Management Knowledge Areas from PMBOK® Guide

Concepts in this chapter support the following Project Management Knowledge Areas of the PMI Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide):

Project Integration Management
Project Procurement Management

Vignette A: Lessons Learned on the Proving Grounds

What Proterra Did:
Listened to the customer
Implemented a more formal project management process
Overcommunicated of the customer’s expectations to everyone on the bus production team
Completed a comparative analysis of the standard bus design to the desired specifications
Incorporated customer and community requests into the design
Provided an onsite technician to answer maintenance questions
Developed education sessions
Outcomes
Saved time on product reviews and changes during production
Avoided rework
Improved cash flow by delivering products on time
Improved customer satisfaction

Vignette B: Learning from the Atomic Age

Changes
Closed Japanese facilities have reopened
15 countries are constructing 67 new reactors
Public acceptance is rising through education and public consultation
Changes in regulations have decreased the construction rate of fossil fuel-fired facilities for power generation
Projected power production for 2040 is 624 gigawatts to be generated by nuclear facilities
Recent growth
created a demand for talent to staff the project teams for construction and for operation
catalyzed a need to provide leadership for the projects
mandated determination of best practices for the industry
How gather information for future projects
Examination of completed nuclear power projects
Post project evaluations
Evaluation findings
Variability of the vocational and professional qualifications and work practices for team members from different countries
Need for stringent safety standards and education for new technologies and processes
Strict regulatory requirements for the industry - build things exactly the way you say you’re going to build them
Standardization of design decisions and reduction of design tweaking
Building of multiple reactors at the same time
Use of modular components to construct the reactors

Project Closing Actions

The process of closing the project involves various actions, including:
Collecting and making final payments
Recognizing and evaluating staff
Conducting a post-project evaluation
Documenting lessons learned
Organizing and archiving project documents
Activities associated with closing the project should be identified and included in the project baseline plan. The figure shown in this slide depicts the project life cycle. We will discuss each of these steps in more detail in the upcoming slides.

Final Payments

Assuring that all payments have been collected from the customer is an activity that must be performed during the closing phase.
Project managers must also verify that all payments have been made to anyone else involved in the project
Such as subcontractors, consultants, vendors, or suppliers for any purchased materials or services
Once all payments have been received and made, the project “books,” or accounting records, can be closed.
A financial analysis of the project can be made in which final actual costs are compared to the project baseline budget.

Staff Recognition And Evaluation

Successful projects should end with some type of recognition and celebration.
This helps boost the morale of the team members through recognizing their work.
It also helps to celebrate a successful project.
The project manager should prepare a written performance evaluation of each member of the project team.
It should mention how each has expanded her or his knowledge as a result of the project assignment
It also identifies areas where he or she needs to develop further.
These evaluations should be shared during individual meetings with the team members, or given to their supervisor to share with them.

Post Project Evaluation

The post-project evaluation stage, which occurs during the closing phase, is an important time to review the project and identify areas that went well and where improvements are necessary.
Hold individual meetings with team members to give feedback on each one about their performance and to get feedback from them on how to improve future projects.
At the group meeting with the project team, the project manager should lead a discussion of what happened during performance of the project and solicit specific recommendations for improvement.
As you can see in the list on this slide, topics to be discussed at group meetings can include.
Technical performance
Budget performance
Schedule performance
Project planning and control
Risk management
Customer relationships
Stakeholder engagement
Team relationships
Communications
Problem identification and resolution
Lessons learned
Recommendations for future projects
The project manager should prepare a written report of project performance including lessons learned and recommendations.

Lessons Learned

The purpose of identifying and documenting lessons learned is to capitalize on the knowledge and experience gained from the project.
This practice helps to improve performance on future projects.
The project organization should establish a knowledge base system that includes an easily accessible information storehouse that encourages project managers and teams to retrieve lessons learned and information from previous projects.
The system should organize information so that it is easily retrievable by category or subject of lesson learned or by key words.
The project team should not wait until the end of the project to capture and document lessons learned.
It should be done on an ongoing basis throughout the planning and performing phases of the project.
Have lessons learned be an agenda topic on a new project and include in project management training.

Archive Project Documents

During project closing, the project team or contractor should ensure that copies of appropriate project documentation are properly organized, filed, and archived.
Good organization helps make information readily retrievable for future use.
It can be valuable to create a database of common data elements from past projects.
Helps to analyze and determine if there are trends or correlations between projects
Can be helpful in bidding, planning, and/or performing future projects
This should be done as part of, or in addition to, the documents in the archive

Customer Feedback

Having a post-project evaluation meeting with the customer or sponsor is just as important as having the internal post-project meetings within the project team members.
The purposes of this meeting is to:
Determine whether the project provided the customer with the expected benefits
Assess the level of customer satisfaction
Obtain any feedback that would be helpful in future business relationships with this customer or with other customers
Discuss future opportunities
Secure permission to use that customer as a reference
Meeting participants should involve the:
Key project team members
Key representatives of the customer’s organization who were involved with the project
Project manager
The project manager should schedule the meeting for a time when the customer is in a position to determine whether the project met expectations and achieved the anticipated benefits.

Post-Project Customer Evaluation Survey

The figure in this slide depicts a post-project customer evaluation survey.
The evaluation survey can be valuable.
Analyze it for trends between projects
Provides an opportunity for ask permission for reference from the client

Not all projects are finished. List some of the circumstances that require a project to be terminated before it is completed.

There may be circumstances that require a project to be terminated before it is completed.
Projects can be terminated by the sponsor or customer because of:
Financial situations (the client runs out of money or the project becomes too expensive)
Project return on investment change (perhaps from a change in the economy, such as a recession)
Dissatisfaction with the project progress (sometimes the client orders a project terminated because it is progressing too slowly)
Project needs have changed (the original project no longer suits the client’s requirements)
Project managers must monitor the level of customer satisfaction continually throughout the project and take corrective action at the first hint of any dissatisfaction.

Critical Success Factors

Recognize the project team and celebrate accomplishments throughout the project.
Regularly ask the customer about the level of satisfaction with the performance and progress of the project and take corrective action at the first hint that the customer is not satisfied.
After the conclusion of a project, the project performance should be evaluated to learn what could be improved if a similar project were to be done in the future. Feedback should be obtained from the customer and the project team.
Capture and document lessons learned throughout the performance of the project.
Establish a knowledge base of lessons learned and ensure that they are communicated and used on future projects.
Organize and archive project documentation and analyze key data that could be helpful in bidding, planning, or performing future projects.
Retain customer evaluation and feedback information that could be valuable in developing proposals for other projects for the same customer in the future.

Summary

The fourth and final phase of the project life cycle is closing the project.
An important project closing action is staff recognition and evaluation.
Conduct post-project evaluation meetings within the project team or organization with individual team members and a group meeting with the project team to gather team feedback for improved future performance.
Identify and document lessons learned to capitalize on the knowledge and experience gained on the project in order to improve performance on future projects.
The project team or contractor should ensure that copies of appropriate project documentation are properly organized, filed, and archived so that they can be readily retrieved for future use.
Conduct a post-project evaluation meeting, or distribute a customer evaluation survey to the customer or sponsor to determine whether the project provided the customer with the expected benefits; assess the level of customer satisfaction; and obtain any feedback that would be helpful in future business relationships with this customer or with other customers.
Projects may be terminated before completion for various reasons.

1. Discuss what needs to be done as part of closing a project. Why are these activities important?

The process of closing the project involves various actions, including:
Collecting and making final payments
Recognizing and evaluating staff
Conducting a post-project evaluation
Documenting lessons learned
Organizing and archiving project documents
These activities are all important to:
Ensure that the customer is satisfied
Gather information about how to improve for future projects
Determine if additional opportunities are available with the customer
Obtain permission to use the customer as a reference

2. Discuss the internal post project evaluation process and the two types of meetings involved.

The internal post-project evaluation process involves holding meetings with:
The project team or organization that performed the project
Individual team members
The group, including the project team, to gather team feedback for improved future performance
The individual meetings allow the project manager to gather information from the individual team members and let the project manager share the performance appraisal of the project team member describing how the team member's skills advanced while working on the project.
The post-project team meeting is a time for the project manager to lead a discussion about how the team performed.

3. List several questions that you would ask during a post-project evaluation and describe changes that you would make in your next project to improve based upon possible responses to the questions.

4. What are some ways you can obtain feedback from a customer after a project has been completed? How would you use this information?

The post-project evaluation can be conducted as a meeting with open-ended questions, or as a customer evaluation survey.
The information is used to assess the level of satisfaction of the customer, the opportunities for future work, and as a chance to ask permission to use the customer as a reference.

5. Why are some projects terminated before they are completed? When would it be wise to do so?

Projects also can be terminated by the sponsor or customer for a variety of reasons including:
Financial situations
Project return on investment change
Dissatisfaction with the project progress
Project needs have changed
It is wise to terminate a project if:
The cost of doing the project outweighs the benefits
The project is no longer needed
If the project is not being carried out in a satisfactory manner

6. List several lessons learned for a project in which you were a project member or project manager. How will these lessons learned inform your future projects?

Responses will be dependent upon the project.
Common lessons learned include:
Increase project team communication
Have more frequent project team meetings
Analyze project progress to be more proactive when tasks are delayed
Have more meetings with the customer
Document changes more thoroughly
Discuss risks at each project team meeting
Not all lessons learned are due to negative experiences. Positive experiences on how to implement a technology solution are also valuable lessons.
Lessons learned inform future projects because the team can implement the suggestions from prior projects and thereby avoid the same problems.

Internet Exercises

Assign the Internet Exercises to your students as homework or complete them together in a computer lab.

Internet Exercises

Many projects are documented on the Internet. For example, if a student is interested in drug trials that have been completed, the search terms could be: “pharmaceutical drug trial project outcomes.”
Have students share their search terms and record the terms to supply the information to other classes as lessons learned.
The searches for "project lessons learned," "post-project evaluations," and "project management standards" result in definitions, tools, and descriptions of each.
Have students share any additional terms they may have included to further refine their searches.
Project management journals contain a variety of articles. Some journals have a theme and others accept articles that are of interest to the project management community.
Have students examine the trends in the themes of the articles to see if a particular topic is more frequently presented, or if there is a pattern to the topics.

Case Study #1: Factory Expansion Project

This activity involves an electronics company whose sales are expanding and requires additional capacity.

Group Activity

Divide the course participants into groups of three or four to develop responses to the case questions. Have each group choose a spokesperson to present its responses to the entire class.

1. What should Andy Gibson have done differently in his meeting with Jacob Clemson in Jacob’s office?

Andy barged into Jacob’s office without an appointment and without respecting that Jacob might be in the middle of other business.
Andy should have scheduled an appointment and listened to Jacob.

2. What are some things Andy could have done differently from his initial contact with Mr. Clemson and during the project?

Clearly, Andy needs to work on his communication skills.
He also needs to learn to listen to Jacob’s concerns.

3. What are some things Jacob could have done differently from the time he met Andy Gibson initially and during the project?

Jacob needs to stop and think about the message he wants to convey and then work on stating his views clearly.
He should have explored the reputation of Andy's company and determined if there were other companies that did similar work in the area.
Jacob could have documented the problems with the project and communicated those problems in writing.
Jacob also can withhold the final payments and the bonus until the project is completed to his specifications.

4. What should Gerri do?

Gerri clearly thinks Andy is being unethical and she should re-think their business relationship.
Some respondents may believe that Gerri should leave this company because she disagrees with the management style and find a position that is more suited to her ethical standards.
Other responses may propose solutions for how to help with the project communications and to help avoid the unethical proposal to obtain the bonus money.

Case Study #2: Market Research Report Project

This activity involves a project manager and her communication plan with the customer.

Group Activity

Divide the course participants into groups of three or four to develop responses to the case questions. Have each group choose a spokesperson to present its responses to the entire class.

1. Did Meghan’s team satisfy the customer? Why or why not?

Christine was the project customer and it seemed that Christine and Sarah were communicating.
Meghan's assumption that Sarah was communicating to Christine may have been a problem and contributed to Christine’s dissatisfaction at the point of distribution.
After making the changes that Christine outlined, she would be satisfied.

2. How should Meghan respond to the comments from Christine after Sarah had given feedback and approval for the final report?

Christine is the customer that contracted with Meghan's team for the project and it is important to communicate with the customer.
Meghan should have included Christine on the prior communications.
Communications should clear and comprehensive so there are no surprises for either the customer or the contractor at the project’s close.
Meghan should respond with a plan to implement the necessary corrections because the customer is not satisfied and has not accepted the product.

Meghan should plan the work necessary to make the corrections to the product and meet with the project team to determine if they can be completed within the allotted slack time of a week.

4. What should Meghan have done differently in the project?

Even though Christine said that she did not have time to devote to the project, Christine should have been copied on all the communications with Sarah, her project manager.
Both Christine and Meghan were surprised at the end of the project and neither the contractor nor the customer should ever be surprised at a project’s close.
Any changes to the project should be approved by the customer in writing.